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The Dos and Don’ts of Customer Service Automation
In this fast-growing digital age, people have little time to make themselves available for grocery shopping or going to the office 10 miles away for work. The 21st-century man has become lazier than ever before as the world continues to grow more digital. This digitalization hasn’t only affected the common man; it has also provided companies the opportunity to serve their customers as efficiently as possible. The need to have an instant solution to anything and everything just a click away has led more companies to opt for automation and replace as much human-customer interaction as possible with artificial intelligence to do this job for them.
在这个快速发展的数字时代，人们并没有多少时间去杂货店买东西，连前往十英里外的办公室上班对人们来说都显得非常奢侈。随着数字化的不断发展，21世纪的人们比以往任何一个时代都更加“懒散”。这种数字化的趋势不仅影响了普通人，它还为公司提供了新的机遇；借助数字化的趋势，公司可以更高效地提供客户服务。任何事情只需要点击一下就能解决，这样的需求导致越来越多的公司开始引入（客户服务）自动化，他们开始尽可能多的使用人工智能替代人类客服来提供客户服务。
“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’t think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other” — Bill Gates.
“信息技术和商业正在变得密不可分。我认为没有人可以只谈论其中一个而忽略另外一个。”——比尔·盖茨
So, when we talk about great customer engagements, we talk about customer experiences which are based on clear communication, short response time, and cross-channel consistency. Customer experience has to be exceptional for the customer, and any act of customer engagement must always feel good. As for the organization, engaging with customers should be a smooth and cost-effective process.
因此，当我们讨论什么样的客户服务才算是优秀时，我们实际上是在说，我们的客户服务需要具有沟通清晰、响应时间短和跨渠道一致性等优点。客户体验必须是优异的，客户的任何参与行为都必须让他们感觉良好。对于公司而言，与客户的互动应该是一个平稳且合算的过程。
对顾客来说，客户服务系统最重要的因素是什么（从上到下依次为：响应时间短、跨渠道一致性、员工懂行、高效且清晰的沟通、专业、访问渠道多样化）
75% and 55% of customers prefer short response times and cross-channel consistency, respectively. Automation has enabled companies to become fast, efficient, and accessible to their customers.
调查显示，对于客户服务，75%的客户更喜欢响应时间短，而55%的客户更偏好跨渠道一致性。自动化让公司能够快速高效地为客户提供服务。
In this era, companies must stay on their toes at all times to adapt to rapidly changing customer needs and the market trends that shift at a similar pace. Today, a business MUST offer exceptional customer experience to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Luckily, the smart capabilities of Artificial Intelligence have allowed companies to understand the needs of their customers through each customer interaction while keeping in mind the business goals of the organization. Therefore, now, businesses recognize AI as a vital ingredient in delivering a memorable experience to the customers.
在这个时代，客户需求在快速变化，市场趋势也在以类似的速度发生改变，公司必须要始终对此保持警惕。如今，为了在全球市场中保持竞争力，企业必须要提供卓越的客户体验。幸运的是，人工智能的出现在这一点上帮助到了公司。在牢记公司商业目标的同时，公司能够通过与客户的互动了解客户的需求。因此，现在企业将AI视为为客户提供极佳体验的重要因素。
However, many people are still afraid of automation. There’s a school of thought that things might go crazy at the workplace with all those fancy robots and whatnots. Nevertheless, here’s what all automation-fearing people don’t enjoy doing: waiting on a call to get connected to a customer service representative, waiting in line with the DMV for hours, and not having someone to help them with an online purchase.
但是，仍然有很多人害怕自动化。有一种观点认为，工作场合的那些东西，不管是花哨的机器人还是诸如此类的东西，可能都会“发疯”失控。但是，即便是这些拒绝自动化的人，也并不喜欢下面这些事情：在电话上等待客户服务人员的接入，在车管所排队排好几个小时，网上购物的时候没人能给他们提供帮助。
There is so much inefficiency out there when it comes to providing seamless customer experiences that it is now crucial for businesses to turn to AI for help. And while it is wise to employ AI to do this job, a company must find the right balance between using AI and human interaction to serve their customers. Not all the concerns can be addressed via an automated service as it comes with its set of limitations. Research from Accenture Strategy shows that about 60% of the customers didn’t make their intended purchase due to poor customer service.
由于企业在提供无缝的客户体验时仍然效率较低，对他们而言，现在转向AI寻求帮助应该是至关重要的。尽管使用AI来完成这项工作（客户服务）是一个明智的选择，但企业仍然需要在使用AI和使用人工之间寻找一个合适的平衡点。因为并非所有的问题都可以通过自动化解决，自动化的客户服务目前还受到一系列的限制与约束。根据埃森哲战略的研究，由于客户服务质量较差，有60%的客户没有进行预期的购买。
Hence, it is imperative to have a clear list of “Dos and Don’ts of Customer Service Automation” to know how a business can use automated customer service to enhance the customer experience.
因此，我们必须清楚地列出“客户服务自动化的注意事项”，这样一来企业才能够了解如何使用自动化的客户服务来增强客户体验。
When automating customer service, this is what a business should DO
在落实客户服务自动化时，下面是企业应该做的事项：
Have a system to automate FAQs:
FAQ系统自动化：
FAQs are the most common questions that customer asks when they get a hold of a business’ customer representative. Ideally, AI should handle the FAQs. Having an automated FAQs section (or a chatbot) that answers these questions efficiently offers enormous benefits to the customer as well as the company as it can resolve customer’s queries quickly and reduce the burden on the customer care team.
FAQ是指顾客向客户服务代表寻求帮助时最经常遇到的那些问题。在理想的情况下，AI应该能够处理这些常见问题。如果自动化系统（或者聊天机器人）能够有效地回答这些问题，那么它将同时给客户和公司带来巨大的好处。它可以快速解决客户的问题，同时也将减轻客户服务团队的负担。
Ensure automated follow-ups
确保自动跟进
It often takes more than one encounter to convert a potential customer into a paying customer. Therefore, follow-up skills are critical for successful sales. However, the art of following up is not for everyone. Many find it boring and tedious. Besides, a follow-up is more effective when it’s done more quickly as leads can dry up within hours if not minutes. The automated follow-up system takes care of this issue by automatically following up with potential and paying customers with little to no work on your part. They also play a pivotal role in enhancing the CX by sending Customer Service Survey after every customer interaction, which reveals the gaps in the service.
（公司）通常需要经历多次往来才能将潜在客户转化为付费客户。因此，后续跟进技能对于成功的销售来说必不可少。但是，很多人并不适应后续跟进的工作。他们会觉得这件事无聊而乏味。除此之外，如果相关工作能够在几分钟（而不是几个小时）内完成，那么后续跟进将会变得更加高效。不然，客户将会失去兴趣。自动跟进系统可以自动化地跟进潜在客户和付费客户的相关问题，而你几乎不需要做什么工作。而且每次完成和客户的互动之后，它们还可以自动发送客户服务调查问卷。由于可以帮助揭示现有服务的不足，因此它们在提高客户服务水平方面发挥着关键的作用。
Predict the behavior of customers
预测客户行为
The system should incorporate the technology that predicts the next step needed by the agent based on the actions of the customer. It should be able to collect data from each interaction and be ready to deal with the anticipated issues. The collected information can then be used to predict future customer problems, the agent’s response, and follow-up questions, which enhance customer experience by adopting a pre-planned approach.
该系统需要能够根据客户以往的行为预测客服代表下一步需要采取的行动。它应该能够从每一次的交互中收集数据，并且为预测问题的处理做好准备。总而言之，这些收集的数据可用于预测客户问题、客服代表如何响应以及如何进行后续跟进。通过采用预先计划的方法，客户体验将会得到改善。
Have a system for seamless transfer between the automated and human agent
用于一个能在自动化客服和人工客服之间进行无缝切换的系统
There should be an alliance between live chat and automated support. A standardized response cannot solve every customer’s problem. The integration of human input is vital for the success of the system.
（人工的）实时聊天和（基于AI的）自助服务应该紧密连接在一起。标准化的相应并不能解决每个客户的问题。人工服务的整合对于系统的成功也非常重要。
Seamless transfer between the automated and human agent is essential to address all types of customer concerns
自动化客服和人工客服之间的无缝切换对于解决任何类型的客户问题都是至关重要的。
Develop a confidence scoring mechanism
建立信任度评分机制
This mechanism can assess the customers’ feelings and confidence in automated systems. The AI system should know when the customer is unhappy and unsatisfied so that the action can be redirected to a human.
该机制可以对客户使用自动化系统时的感受和信任度进行评估。AI系统应该能够了解客户什么时候开始感到不开心、不满意，这样一来系统便寻求人工客服的介入。
Have an updatable knowledge base for each customer
为每个客户提供可更新的知识库
There should be a knowledge base that can update itself after every customer interaction. The updated information ideally includes the location, identity, past purchases and preferences of the customer which make the system more proficient in catering to specific needs of the customers and help the administrator organize and manage the content and control the user’s access.
在每次和客户进行沟通之后，应该有一个可以自动进行更新的知识库。理想情况下，该知识库更新的内容应该包括：客户的位置、身份、购买历史和偏好。这可以让系统更好的满足客户的特定需求，并且帮助管理员对相关内容进行组织管理，并且控制用户的访问行为。
Ask for feedback
要求反馈
Automation is not an easy task. It requires regular testing and working with feedback to make improvements. Asking for feedback makes customers feel valued and helps a business to come up with better ways to serve their customers.
自动化并不是一件容易的事情。它需要定期进行测试，根据反馈进行改进工作。寻求客户的反馈会让客户觉得被重视，并且它还能够帮助企业找到更好的途径为客户提供服务。
While customer service automation promises high profitability, increased customer satisfaction, and maximum productivity, it still cannot be used to handle specific and complex situations. Although AI is a supersmart technology, if mishandled, it can lead to customer dissatisfaction. So, entrepreneurs should be able to differentiate between the tasks that automation can ace and the ones that need human assistance.
虽然一般来说，自动化的客户服务系统能够提高企业的盈利能力，提高客户的满意度，最大化企业的生产效率。但是，对于一些特定的或者复杂的情况，它仍然无能为力。所以虽然AI是一项“超能”的技术，但是如果使用不当，它反而会导致客户的不满。因此，企业家们需要能够区分哪些任务可以通过自动化完成，哪些任务又需要人工的协助。
When automating customer service, a business should NOT
在落实客户服务自动化时，下面是企业应该做的事项：
Replace a system; instead, complement it
更换系统？不，请完善它
The automated system should work in alliance with the customer service representatives. It cannot have answers to all the customer’s queries. So, the system should know when human input is required, and when it’s not.
自动化系统应该和客服代表共同工作。毕竟，它无法回答所有客户的问题。因此，系统应该知道什么时候需要人工介入，什么时候又不需要。
Rely on one channel
单一渠道依赖
Customers contact the company’s customer care service through various channels. It’s their choice, give them the freedom to do so. A company’s automated system should be able to extract vital customer information from multiple channels and not just one, and all the automated channels should be linked to each other and the sales representatives.
客户总是会通过各种各样的渠道（电话、邮件、移动应用、网页留言等等）联系公司的客服代表。这是他们的自由，你不能对此施加限制。公司的自动化系统应该能够从多个渠道提取重要的客户信息，而不仅仅只是某一个特定的渠道。除此之外，所有的这些渠道应该能够相互链接、信息互通，并且销售代表也被关联其中。
Use automation for complex support issues
在复杂事项中使用自动化
Automated systems can be used for simple customer problems like billing, purchasing, and product inquiry. Sometimes the problem is too complicated, and human input becomes essential to understand, negotiate, and solve the issue.
对于那些简单的问题，例如说计费、采购和产品查询等，自动化系统完全可以自主解决。但有时候，问题会非常复杂，这时只有人才能理解、协商和解决客户的诉求。
Be okay with the outdated system in place
系统过时了也无所谓
The system should be updated and maintained regularly to avoid redundant and irrelevant responses to the customers. If customer service is automated successfully, managers can spend their time on other core activities of the business.
系统应该得到定期的更新和维护，以避免向客户发送冗余或无关的响应。如果客户服务系统成功的实现了自动化，管理人员就可以将时间和精力花在其他的核心业务上了。
Final Word
总结
Customer service automation (CSA) is an incredible tool which promises high profitability, increased customer satisfaction, and maximum productivity. It can be used to its maximum potential by abiding by the principles mentioned above. However, CSA can bring more harm than good to a business if mismanaged. The most beneficial use of automation comes with a balance in AI and human support in customer care.
作为一项难以置信的工具，客户服务自动化（Customer service automation，CSA）可以提高企业的盈利能力，提高客户的满意度，最大化企业的生产效率。如果遵循上述的这些原则，我们将发挥出其最大的潜力。但是，如果管理不善，客户服务自动化的使用反而是弊大于利的。为了最大化客户服务自动化的收益，我们需要在人工智能和人工之间取一个合适的平衡点。
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